Opinion

House Democrats announced they will not submit a budget for 2011. Congressman John Spratt is the lead person with responsibility for the House budget. Budgeting is a fundamental responsibility of governing and without budgeting there is no way to get the national debt under control.

Without a budget, there is a spending spree in Washington. Americans are demanding fiscal responsibility and this is the answer from the Democratic leaders in Washington?

Happy Birthday, America! This year, there will be 234 candles on your red, white and blue cake.

We celebrate our freedom going back to July 4, 1776.

That’s the day our young nation adopted the Declaration of Independence, which declared our independence from Great Britain.

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the American colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia.

So, what does last week’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on handguns mean? Legal experts on both sides of the gun control debate predict it will mean more challenges to gun-control laws – challenges that might very well be decided in future Supreme Court rulings.

The decision will also almost certainly void gun-control laws in Chicago and Oak Place, Ill., that forbid residents to have handguns in their homes.

On July 2, I was shopping at Wal-Mart in Lancasster. After loading my items into my car, I left my purse in the shopping cart and drove away.

Some kind person found my purse and turned it in to the staff in the store. I would like to thank that person. I have tried to find out who you are, but have been unsuccessful. I want you to know that your kindness and honesty have not gone unnoticed.

With all the bad news that is reported, I think it is time we stop and give thanks for all the good people who are still in this world.

I read the editorial about saving the old Lancaster County jail. I do not believe it needs to be restored because it is useless to the public. How many people have come to look at it?

Everything old is not historic. We now have an old courthouse that probably no one will go in. There are old jails in every town. That does not make them unique. It is not like everyone who has been there has such good memories.

The editorial mentioned Robert Mills, the architect who designed the jail. I have never heard of him. Now, if he was Frank Lloyd Wright, that would be different.

The building, which once was the home of Barr Street High School and Barr Street Junior High School, sports new life.

The building, which for the most part has seen little or no activity since 2003, has been renewed through the work of Hope on the Hill, a local group led by the Rev. Wayne Murray to boost opportunities for youth.

Plans called for the renovated facility to open in late June, but the opening is now set for Saturday due to complications with the alarm system.

I am delighted that The Lancaster News reported July 2, 2010, that there was strong support to save the old jail.

The price to rehabilitate the jail seems reasonable. This building has stood since 1823, about 200 years. That proves how well it was originally constructed. The structure is designated as a National Historic Landmark.

I want to respond to Jenny Arnold’s article, “Reaching rebellious youth focus of community forum.” There have been candlelight meetings, marches and prayer meetings to bring awareness to the problem of young people killing young people. But there are no solutions that the community likes. Before we can generate a solution to any problem we must understand the cause of the problem.

When I read the four letters to the editor in Wednesday’s paper, I thought of some lines from W.B. Yeats’ “The Second Coming.”

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”

At a time when our state’s reputation has reached its nadir in the nation and the world, there are plenty of people who want to drag us back to the Middle Ages and turn our affairs over to the generals and clerics.

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

– The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The First Amendment was written because at America’s inception, citizens demanded a guarantee of their basic freedoms.

Those opening words to the University of South Carolina alma mater carry a little deeper meaning today.

The USC Gamecocks, a never-say-die unit personified, are the toast of the college baseball world. The Gamecocks scratched and fought for their elite status, college baseball’s “Cock of the Walk,” if you will, with the 2010 NCAA national championship they won Tuesday.

The TEA Party of Lancaster County is having a rally at noon July 3 at the former Elrod GMC building, 845 Lancaster Bypass East.

We are coming together to generate support for the nationwide effort to take back our country.

As we all know, our country is in trouble. We pray constantly for God’s help in turning around the mess we are in, but it has often been said that God helps those who help themselves. And that is what we want to do – help our country.

After reading “More Food Choices for Students at Lunch” in the June 4 edition of The Lancaster News, I decided to log in to the newspaper’s Web site. I wanted to see if there were any reader comments on the announcement that the school district director of food services and the president of the school board were pleased and proud to add Philly cheese steaks and chicken wings to the school lunch menu for next year.

Susan Johnson’s June 13 letter, “Judicial system has to follow through,” is factually incorrect.

She states that the solicitor said the person arrested for dealing drugs was never prosecuted. The solicitor is a part of the executive branch of government – not judicial. Whether or not to prosecute a case is in the sole discretion of the elected solicitor – not the judge.

We can picture the scene when veteran Lancaster City Councilman John Howard shook his head and said, “I think I’m in the twilight zone.” Howard often quips at council meetings, and he’s never been a council member to mince words.

And when he wondered if he was in some netherworld at the June 3 special City Council budget meeting, he did so for good reason. The majority on council had just voted to tap into the city’s reserve funds to give employees a 2 percent raise.

President Barack Obama must have spent summers working in an Alaskan fishery. Experts tell me that it does not take long before the constant daylight begins to affect your performance and judgment. Otherwise, why am I still fuming that Obama’s first official act was to order the close of Guantanamo Bay to ensure terrorists’ rights were not violated.

GITMO prison guards surely were surprised to awaken from sleep and find that all the cells were empty. Obama let most of them go back home so they can once again work to destroy America.

I’d like to respond to Tish Leonhardt’s letter, “Nurse: White Oak cares for its patients,” in the June 9 edition of The Lancaster News. I usually write my own letters, word for word, but the letter Mrs. Leonhardt is referring to was written by someone else.

When I viewed the words – sorry, I can’t remember where – I thought that it was very relevant to our society today. I wasn’t trying to plagiarize. I sent it in liking the thought it laid out.